Gravity-conveyer.



J. W. ANDERSON, JR. GBAVITY OONVEYER.

APPLIOATION FILE? MAY 31, 1911.

Patented Sept. 17, 1912.

Atto rhey s.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN WILLIAM ANDERSON, JR, 0F WOODLAND, ILLINOIS.

GRAVITY-CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

-. Application filed May 31, 1911.

Patented Sept. 17,1912.

Serial No. 630,500.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN WVILLIAM AN- nEnsoN, Jr, a citizen of the United States,

residing at \Voodland, in the county of Iroquois and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Gravity-Conveyer, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention relates to an improvement in gravity conveyers.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a gravity conveyer in the construction of which a plurality of rollers are employed, with'means for preventinglateral movement of the articles conveyed, the dimensions of said .means not being restricted bythedistance between the rollers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character with means for preventing lateral movement of the articles carried, said means being capable of movement independent of the roller mem- 'bers.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that i changes in the precise embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of'what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings-Figure 1 is atop plan viewof a section of the improved conveyer. F 1g. 2 1s a side elevation of said conveyer. Fig. 3- 1s a detail view showing one of the rollers equipped with an idle flange; and

that the brick will move in a fixed plane. In

handling round drain pipes, or in fact round objects of any character, it is necessary to provide the rollers with flanges and in in-. stances where the pipe is of great diameter, it is necessary to considerably space the rollers in order that the same maybe provided; with flanges which will prevent the pipe from rolling off of the conveyer. Ihe height of the flanges, (that is, provided each roller is equipped with a flange) even in this instance necessarily being a trifle less than one-half of the distance between the rollers in order that the same will not bind. It will thus be noted that different conveyers must be constructed to handle brick than those which handle round objects such as drain pipes, and conduits as in the conveyers which handle the latter article, the rollers are so far apart that the brick would not travel in a fixed plane, therefore a plant in which both brick and pipe are manufactured must be equipped with two sets of conveyers.

The object of the present invention is to .overcome the necessity of providing two sets of conveyors, the present invention embodying a structure in which the rollers may be spaced to a degree such as will carry the smallest brick in a fixed plane and at the same time be equipped with means for preventing the lateral displacement of round objects, the only restriction in the dimensions of the members which prevent the lateral displacement being the distance between the supports for the rollers.

In the preferred form of the invent-ion, side rails 10 and 11 are provided, which rails support a plurality of rollers 12, said rollers being equally spaced, their normal bearing surfaces being of the same length. Each of the rollers is provided with elon- ..gated trunnions 13, the space between the end portion 14: of the roller and the side rail being suflicient to accommodate a flange formed integral with or mounted for rotationon the next adjacent roller. Thus a roller such for instance, as the roller 15 may be provided with a flange 16, the diameter of which is restricted only by the distance between the trunnions of the two adjacent rollers. In handling light material, alternate rollers are formed with a flange 16 which'eflectually prevent lateral movement of the pipe or conduit which is conducted along the conveyer. In instances where heavy materials such as iron pipe are to be handled, idler flanges such as are designated by 16 in Fig. 3 are positioned on the reduced portion 18 of the rollers, thus re ducing the friction which occurs at the point of contact between the pipe and the flanges when said flanges are fixed rigidly to the rollers, this friction being due to the higher rate of speed at which the flange travels compared with the rollers at respective v points of cont-act.

While beveled flanges are preferred, as shown inFigs. 1, 3 and 4, the flanges may be constructed in any manner or of any shape which will facilitate the handling of the product and the same may be mounted in any way which will be found advantageous', the invention not being necessarily limited to the specific construction of flange or the manner of mountingthe same.

Attention is called to the fact that a conveyer constructed in accordance with this invention will be capable of conveying small brick or large pipe, the rollers being at all times close together in order to, carry the product in a fixed plane.

While every second roller is shown equip ed with a flange, the distribution of said anged rollers may be made, particularly in a type of machine in whichthe idle flanges are employed so that the flanges only occur at necessary points; however,

when the conveyer is constructed as shown in the drawings, the same is adapted for carrying long and short tubular members.

What is claimed is 1. A gravity conveyer consisting of a plurality of rollers, some but not all of which are provided with means for preventing the lateral movement of the article conveyed. v

2. A gravity conveyer consisting of a plurality of equally spaced rollers, flanges arranged on some of said rollersjfor preventing the lateral movement of the article conveyed, said flanges being of a ,diameter greater than the distance between the unflanged adjacent rollers.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

- JOHN WILLIAM ANDERSON, JR. Witnesses:

C. 0. Cum, 1). J. SULLIVAN. 

